


The Dance

by SilverRowan_Ivy630951



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dance Instructor Steve Rogers, Dance is, Dancer Bucky Barnes, Dancer Steve Rogers, Established Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-World War II Bucky Barnes, but that’s not the focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29019033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverRowan_Ivy630951/pseuds/SilverRowan_Ivy630951
Summary: Natalia is out sick so Steve is filling in to teach her class for the day. He has something important to share with the students.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	The Dance

**Author's Note:**

> They’re dancing to this: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_7zyy8b_BY>

“No!” Steve yelled over the music.

“We’re doing the steps exactly!” the female dancer cried angrily. But there was a certain timidity in her voice that was echoed by the male dancer’s posture. Everyone there seemed intimidated by him. That was fine though. As long as they still learned.

As a favor to Natalia, Steve had come in to teach this class while she was down with a bad cold. Nat was still there, he knew, but she was letting Steve take the reins. Part of it was seeing how her students handled a different teacher with a completely different personality and way of teaching. Part of it was her sense of humor. She always did have an odd one. Her students didn’t know and couldn’t see her behind the single pane of double sided mirror looking into the room.

“It’s not enough to just _do_ the steps!” he told them all. “You have to _feel_ them deep inside you. Stop thinking about it and _do_ it! _Be_ it.”

They went through it again but it stayed the same. The next pair came up. And then the next. Each dance was the same and it frustrated him on such a deep level that he had to resist running his fingers repeatedly through his hair.

“Not right,” he muttered to himself, his Irish accent thickening as his emotions rose. He was glad the music was loud enough that none of the students could hear him. All his words would accomplish would be to bring them all down. Making them feel bad wasn’t the goal and it wasn’t a good strategy. What he needed was—

He glanced at his watch. Perfect. He was always on time. He would be here.

Pulling out his phone, Steve hit speed dial 1.

He spoke in rapid Russian, only to break into English mid-sentence when the current dancers hesitated in their moves. “Do not let distractions get in the way. You dance like there is nothing but the music and your partner there, filling your mind.”

Switching back to Russian, he made his request, keeping a close eye on his dancers.

Within a minute, the studio door opened. Steve was glad to see that they had taken his instruction to heart. The dancers didn’t stop or hesitate. They did fumble the tiniest bit, but that was alright. They were still learning. And it was small enough that only someone trained would’ve really seen it.

Setting his bag down quietly, Bucky sat on the floor. He watched intently. When the current dancers were through, Steve called the best pair to go next. They’d gotten all the steps right every time.

When they finished, he had everyone sit lining the walls while Bucky stretched out. Steve only needed to do a few refresher stretches since he’d loosened up before class. So, while he waited for Bucky to be ready, he talked to the class.

“First we will dance how you are dancing. Watch closely. Because, after that, we will dance how I am asking you to dance. Look for the differences. Look _beyond_ the steps.”

The music started over again—Natalia’s doing, no doubt. Steve took the role of the male while Bucky, lighter and a little smaller than him, danced as the female.

They went through the moves exactly as the students had done. And, to Steve, it all felt empty and meaningless. There were no feelings, no care between them. They started at the door, they moved across and around the floor, and they ended near where they had begun. But everything was lifeless and unfeeling.

When the music started again as soon as they reached the first position, they _danced_. They connected. They were in sync. They were like two bodies with one mind. Their eyes connected and so did their hearts and souls.

And, when the music faded, Bucky’s hand was on Steve’s neck the same as Steve’s hand was on Bucky’s. It felt like a caress. The smile on Bucky’s face was also in his eyes.

To Steve, the two dances, while performed with the same steps, were worlds apart. He could only hope they saw that.

Stepping back, Steve turned to his students while Bucky murmured in Russian that he’d see him in the lobby. Then he grabbed his stuff and silently left.

Sitting down facing the dancers, Steve let them think. After two minutes, he asked the big question. “How did I dance?”

There was a long moment before one of the women gathered her courage and said, “You didn’t dance the steps. You danced the meaning.”

“ _Yes_ ,” he breathed. It was a relief that someone saw. “ _That_ is what I am trying to teach you today. If you do not find the heart, there is nothing there because the rest _is_ nothing. There is no dance without emotion. Lacking that, it just becomes movement. In the first, we are strangers sharing the same space, doing complimentary moves. In the second, we are loves looking at and thinking of no one but the other, two hearts wanting to become one.”

He studied each face and slowly started to see the comprehension there.

“Dance is like fire. Fire can be angry. It can be greedy. It can be simmering and full of heat. It can devour…or it can provide comfort or warmth. But you can show none of that without the feeling you put into it. Anger or hatred becomes jerky, uncoordinated movement. Warmth becomes lethargic and dull. Do you understand?”

More faces lit up with what he was trying to say.

“It is the music that provides the base. But without that feeling, without that emotion, music is just sound. You go and watch a movie sometime that has no background score. More often than not, you will feel that lack, even if you do not consciously pinpoint where it is coming from.”

By the time he was finished, they all seemed to understand and he was glad. Glancing at his watch, Steve saw that there was just enough time for each pair to try again. So that’s what they did.

Later, leaving the dance studio hand in hand with Bucky, Steve felt good about the progress Nat’s students had made that day. He would find out later when she called him if she agreed. But, for now, they went home.

**Author's Note:**

> This was short but I hope you liked it.


End file.
